High School

High School: Historical References

Bauer, Yehuda and Nili Keren. A History of the Holocaust. New York: Franklin Watts, 1982.

Abstract: This work examines the origins of antisemitism and Nazism as well as the history of Jewish-German relationships. One of the most readable general histories for high school students.

Berenbaum, Michael. The World Must Know: The History of the Holocaust as Told in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1993.

Abstract: This comprehensive work, written by the project director of USHMM, tells the story of the Holocaust with words and photographs. It can be used in conjunction with a museum visit or on its own.

Abstract: David Welch explores Nazi propaganda and the various public reactions to it, and arrives at certain conclusions about the effectiveness, and limitations, of Hitler's manipulation of the masses.

Yahil, Leni. The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry, 1932-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Abstract: Material is grouped into three broad time periods. Major emphasis is placed on Hitler's "Final Solution. " Suitable for advanced readers.

High School: Fiction and Memoirs

Abstract:
Alicia was thirteen when she escaped alone from a firing squad and, while hiding from Nazis and collaborators, began saving the lives of strangers. She states, "I believe that the book will teach young people what enormous reserves of strength they possess within themselves. "

Bierman, John. The Story of Raoul Wallenberg, Missing Hero of the Holocaust. New York: Viking Press, 1981.

Abstract: This is the story of one of the most famous rescuers, Raoul Wallenberg, whose fate remains a mystery to this day. He is credited with saving the lives of close to 100,000 Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.

Boas, Jacob. We are Witnesses.
New York: Henry Holt, 1995.

Abstract:
A touching diary of five teenage victims of the Holocaust.

Borowski, Tadeusz. This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen. New York: Penguin, 1976.

Abstract: Stories of daily life in Auschwitz describe the relations among the inmates, their various duties within the camp, and the hardships they endured.

Fink, Ina. A Scrap of Time.
New York: Schocken, 1989.

Abstract: This collection of short stories describes people that are placed in a variety of normal human situations that have been distorted by war.

Friedman, Philip. Their Brothers' Keepers. New York: Crown, 1957.

Abstract: This classic volume contains the first documented evidence of Christian aid to the Jews during the Holocaust. Friedman has collected eyewitness accounts, personal letters, and diaries as source material. He also conducted interviews across Europe to discover and record stories of rescue.

Abstract: Miep Gies, along with her husband, were among those who helped the Frank family while they were in hiding. Her story is an important supplement to Anne Frank's diary as it adds historical background as well as an outside perspective to Anne's story. Gies enables the reader to understand what was happening both inside and outside the Annex.

Hersey, John. The Wall.
New York: Knopf, 1950.

Abstract: This fiction describes the creation of the Warsaw Ghetto, the building of the "Wall" around it, and the uprising and eventual destruction of the ghetto.

Abstract: This rabbi's memoir sheds light on the relatively unknown ghetto Lvov. Kahane also investigates a still disputed Holocaust theme: the attitudes of Ukrainians towards European Jews.

Keneally, Thomas. Schindler's List. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982.

Abstract: Thomas Keneally's famous novel tells the story of a remarkable man, Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of thousands of Jews by harboring them in his factory during the Holocaust.

Klein, Gerda Weissmann. All But My Life. New York: Hill and Wang, 1971.

Abstract:
A true story that tells about Gerda's experience as one of only 120 women who survived a three-hundred-mile march from a labor camp in western Germany to Czechoslovakia.

Kosinski, Jerzy. The Painted Bird. New York: Modern Library, 1982.

Abstract: A young boy abandoned by his parents in Eastern Europe during World War II encounters terror and brutality. For mature readers only.

Leitner, Isabella. Fragments of Isabella: A Memoir of Auschwitz. New York: Dell, 1983.

Abstract: A survivor of Auschwitz recounts the ordeal of holding her family together after her mother is killed in the camp.

Levi, Primo. Survival in Auschwitz. New York: Collier, 1973.

Abstract: This memoir of a young Italian chemist describes life inside Auschwitz in a direct yet sophisticated manner.

Meed, Vladka. On Both Sides of the Wall. New York: Holocaust Publications, 1979.

Abstract: A young smuggler from the Warsaw ghetto maintains contact between the ghetto and the Aryan side of the city.

Miller, Arthur. Playing for Time.
New York: Bantam Books, 1981.

Abstract: This is the dramatic version of Fania Fenelon's story of her days as a musician at Auschwitz.

Ozick, Cynthia. The Shawl.
New York: Random House, 1990.

Abstract: A book of short stories. The title story tells of a mother witnessing her baby's death at the hands of camp guards. Another story, "Rose," describes that same mother thirty years later, still haunted by the event.

Sender, Ruth M. The Cage.
New York: Macmillan, 1986.

Abstract: This novel begins just before the Nazi invasion of Poland and continues through life in the Lodz ghetto and finally, at Auschwitz.

Siegal, Aranka. Upon the Head of a Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939-44 New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1981.

Abstract: In this award-winning book, Aranka Siegal tells the story of her family and her life in Hungary as a child. In 1944 she and her family were taken to Auschwitz.

Steiner, Jean-Francois. Treblinka. New York: Bard/Avon, 1975.

Abstract: A powerful novel about the Treblinka extermination camp and a revolt by the prisoners there.

Wiesel, Elie. The Gates of the Forest. New York: Schocken, 1982.

Abstract: A young Hungarian Jew escapes to the forest during the Nazi occupation, and assumes various roles in order to stay alive. He later joins a partisan group to fight against the Nazis.

Wiesel, Elie. Night.
New York: Bantam, 1982.

Abstract: Wiesel, one of the most eloquent writers of the Holocaust, is known best for this novel. A compelling narrative, Night describes Wiesel's own experiences in Auschwitz.

High School: Art and Poetry

Abstract: More than 350 works of art created by people who lived in ghettos, concentration camps and in hiding are presented, along with essays and biographical information. This artwork is an affirmation of the durability and insistence of the creative human spirit.